Introducing Linkin Park

 

The American invasion continues apace with the arrival of South California's Linkin Park. Mixing crunching riffs with a healthy love of electronica and hip-hop, the band are already developing a fanatical following stateside, as vocalist Chester Bennington explains.. "There's this 13-year-old kid from Pittsburgh. He comes up to us and goes, 'I'm stalking you dude, and when you reach the peak of your success I'm going to kill you.' Then, during the show he's down the front telling Mike (Shinoda, rapper/co-vocalist) that he wants to 'rape his soul'! I think that's cool, but he probably needs to chill out a bit," states a surprisingly relaxed Chester.

It's the kind of fanaticism that he and the band are probably going to have to get used to. With their debut single 'One Step Closer' already troubling the MTV schedules (the video was filmed 63ft under ground in an abandoned LA railway station and features Matrix-style floating ninjas), Linkin Park have just unleashed their dazzling,Don Gilman (Pearl Jam, Lit, Eve 6) produced debut album 'Hybrid Theory' on Warner Bros.

Deriving their name from Lincoln in Santa Monica ("I used to drive past it every day but we were too cheap to buy the presidential spelling of the website - www.linkinpark.com was available so that's what we chose"), their line-up is completed by Brad Delson (guitar), Joseph Hahn (DJ/Samples) and Rob Bourden (drums).

While the Deftones and NIN may provide obvious reference points, the undeniable sense of melody that surges through 'Hybrid Theory' could be rooted deep in Chester's past. "I probably shouldn't admit this but I own every Madonna record on the planet," he laughs.

However, like other West Coast hotshots and personal friends Papa Roach, the band's lyrics tend to be rooted in alientation, paranoia, broken relationships and death.They're topics close to Chester's heart. "I've had a couple of friends commit suicide when I was growing up. I also lost a friend in a tragic freak skateboarding accident. He was skateboarding down this little hill, hit a pebble and hit his head just right, and it was over. It can happen to you a million times when you're a kid, you fall down and hit your head-he just happened to hit the wrong spot."

On one ocasion Chester's own life was almost cut short, though it was a result of his own foolishness. "You know those snow saucers? I rode one down a cliff once and went headfirst into a brick wall. I had to have 47 stitches but thankfully I'm here to tell the tale."

One listen to 'Hybrid Theory' and you'll be glad too.

by Phil Ascott, Metal Hammer, December 2000